This invention relates to a system for driving blood from a patient's body extremity or limb to prepare same for a local anesthetic.
The desirability of driving blood from a body extremity or limb prior to administration of a local anesthetic is well known.
A patentability search hereon has revealed the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Date Inventor ______________________________________ 3,785,374 January 15, 1974 Lipson 4,066,084 January 3, 1978 Tillander 4,098,268 July 4, 1978 Scott 4,228,792 October 21, 1980 Rhys-Davies 4,610,245 September 9, 1986 Biearman 4,781,189 November 1, 1988 Vijil-Rosales ______________________________________
The patents to Lipson, Scott and Bierarman do not appear to be concerned with driving blood from a limb.
Tillander is a blood emptying device for pressing blood from an extremity toward the heart. A number of sections are arranged around the extremity which are to be filled with a gaseous medium. A valve between adjacent pairs of sections allows a first section to fill to a predetermined pressure before the second section fills.
Rhys-Davies discloses an exsanguinating device for displacing blood from a limb by compression. A double-walled tube of elastomeric material is filled with fluid and is rolled along a patient's limb with the two walls exchanging positions.
Vijil-Rosales teaches a device for exsanguinating a limb using an inflatable bladder which surrounds the limb. The bladder is inflated to evacuate the blood from the limb.
A system according to the instant invention is essentially a tow-piece system, the two pieces being a pneumatic sleeve and a protective undersleeve. The sleeves are flexible to conform to the patient's extremity and the protective undersleeve protects the clinician from infection. The diameter and length of both sleeves are determined by the patient's size so as to be easily applied to the patient's extremity without interfering with open wounds or previously emplaced intravenous devices. The inventive system offers significant saving in clinicians' time, more reliable emptying of venous blood from patients' extremities and cost reduction, together with less pain to patients.
Important objects of the invention are to provide a simple, less patient painful system having the foregoing advantages for driving blood from a patient's extremity to prepare same for local anesthetic. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.